Collapsible tubing



1943 A. E. CHERNACK COLLAPSIBLE TUBING Filed March 10, 1943 Jhveniar ABEL E. CHERNACK :29 hi? a/i-iarneys Patented Dec. 21,

UNITED STATES PATENT 4 OFFICE comrsmm TUBING Abel E. Chcrnaclt, Elmwood, Conn. Application mm; 10, 1943, Serial No. 478,727

' 7 Claims. (01. 138-49) This invention relates to flexible tubing and more particularly to collapsible tubing and it is an object o1 this invention to provide tubing of the type described which, althoughof comparatively large diameter and considerable length can be collapsed or compressed to a relatively short length suitable for convenient handling and transportation. It is also an object of this invention to provide a tubing of the type described which is so constructed that the use of adhesives is unnecessary and the tubing remains sealed at all times. It is a further object of this invention to provide a tubing of the type described which can be readily collapsed and extended and which will retain a neat appearance under severe conditions of use.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a section of tubing constructed in accordance with this invention, part of the tubing being broken away in order to show details of the construction;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, drawn to a larger scale, and showing the manner in which the wrapping material is overlapped in the formation of tubing of one modification of this invention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the wrapping material of Fig. 2 as assembled with the inner supporting spiral and the outer binding or clamping spiral in a completed tubing;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the manner in which the wrapping material is interlocked in another modification of this invention; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the i .terlocked wrapping material of Fig. 4 assembled with the inner supporting spiral and outer binding spiral.

Tubing in accordance with this invention comprises, as shown in Fig. 1, an inner supporting spiral l, a covering of suitable strip material 2, and an outer binding or clamping spiral 3. The inner supporting spiral I may be of any suitable material having sufficient rigidity to prevent collapse of the tubing under the normal conditions of its use and suflicient flexibility to permit collapsing of a, length of the tubing to a much shorter length. Spring steel wire has been found suitable for this purpose but the invention is not limited to the use of such material. A spiral I being formed of the desired diameter and pitch, the spiral is then covered by wrapping a strip of covering material 2 about the spiral I. The strip material 2 is preferably slightly wider than the pitch of the spiral I so that the edges of the strip material 2 may overlap,

as at 2| in Fig. 2, along the spiral I, or the strip material may have its opposite edges folded back against opposite faces, as at 22 and 23 in Fig. 4, so the overlapped edges may be interlocked along the spiral I. The strip material 2 may be a cotton cloth, fireproofed or otherwise treated so as to render it suitable for the designed use; asbestos cloth where fire protection is necessa or other suitable materials may be used.

The covering material 2 is then secured to the by laying a strip of a a substantially tubular shape so as to cause the overlapped edges of the covering material 2 to be folded about the inner spiral l and to be clamped to the inner spiral I and held against slipping by spiral 3 causes the covering material to be pressed inwardly towards the axis of the spiral I so that when extended in use wear is normally taken by the clamping spiral 3 and the covering material protected and it also causes the overlapped edges to be caught and held between the inner spiral l and the outer clamping spiral 3 so that no openings develop between the edges of the wrapping material 2. Being without an adhesive, the joint between the overlapped edges is not affected by high or low temperatures or'repeated contraction and extension of the tubing.

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial Number 430,289, filed February 10, 1942.

a metallic clamping strip securing the overlapping edges of said strip to said spring.

2. A collapsible tubing comprising a spiral, wrapped about said spring said spring, said covering overlapped at the spring to said spring and a metallic about said spring and se edges of said covering, strip a clamping strip securing said overlapping edges togetberandtosaidspiral.

4. A collapsible tubing comprising a collapsible supporting spiral, a covering strip wrapped about said spiral at the same pitch as said spiral, said covering strip having its edges overlapping along said spiral to form a tube surrounding said spiral and a clamping strip securing said overlapping edges together between said clamping strip and said supportingsprraL v 5. A collapsible tubing comprising an inner spiral, a covering strip wrapped about said spiral, said strip having its edges interlocking along said spiral to form a tube surrounding said spiral and a clamping strip securing said interlocked edges together and to said spiral,

6. A collapsible tubing comprising an inner spiral, a covering strip wrapped about said spiral at the same pitch as saidspiral, said covering .strip having its edges overlapping along said ABEL E. CHERNACK. 

